Summary: Are we thankful?

They were dealing with a almost incurable disease, and so are many people today, and that disease is ungratefulness!

A man bought a piece of land with a house on it but the land and house needed a lot of work, after getting ever thing fixed up, the preacher came walking by an said, “Bill, you and the Lord sure have a nice place now! Bill said, “You should have seen it when the Lord had it by himself!”

Verse 13-They Lifted Up Their Voices

What is the situation in your life?

What the ordeal your dealing with?

What is the problem that is plaguing you?

Are you trying to find relief for your ordeals, for your problems, for your situation, in all the wrong places, in the wrong person?

Have you called out to Jesus?

The best thing you can do is call out to Jesus.

Verse 14-As They Went

They did not argue with him, they just obeyed Him, they just trusted Him!

The only way to test the value of Christ’s words is to obey them!

Verse 15-16-One Returned

Bible commentator Matthew Henry, was once robbed.

Later he told his family he was thankful and they wanted to for what.

He said, “I’m thankful: Because I was never robbed before.

Because although they took my wallet they didn’t take my life.

Because although they took my all, it wasn’t very much.

And I’m thankful that it was I who was robbed and not I who did the robbing.”

There was a father and mother of a young man killed in the military in a little church. One day they came to the pastor and told him the wanted to give a monetary gift as a memory to our son who died in battle. The pastor said, “That’s a wonderful gesture on your part. He asked if it was ok to tell the congregation and they said that it was. So the next Sunday he told the congregation of the gift given in memory of the dead son.

On the way home from church, another couple were driving down the highway when the father said to his wife, “Why don’t we give a gift because of ow son?” And his wife said, “But ow son didn’t die in any conflict! Our son is still alive!” Her husband replied, “That’s exactly my point! That’s all the more reason we ought to give in thanks to God.”

Verse 17-18-Where Are The Nine?

Too often we are content to enjoy the gift but we forget the Giver,

How often we lose interest in the Lord after He has blessed us, answered some prayer, healed some sickness, or fulfilled some financial shortage.

How often people remember Jesus only in times of distress.

We are quick to pray but slow to praise!

Verse 19-Your Faith Has Made You Well

It may have healed them but it didn’t save them!

In A Second Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul, Rev. John R. Ramsey tells how in one church a certain person provided him with a rose boutonniere for the lapel of his suit every Sunday. At first he really appreciated it but then it sort of became routine. Then one Sunday it became very special. As he was leaving the Sunday Service a young boy walked up to him and said, “Sir, what are you going to do with your flower?” At first the preacher didn’t know what the boy was talking about. When it sank in, he pointed to the rose on his lapel and asked the boy, “Do you mean this?” The boy said, “Yes, sir. If you’re just going to throw it away, I would like it.” The preacher smiled and told him he could have the flower and then casually asked what he was going to do with it. The boy, looked up at the preacher and said, “Sir, I’m going to give it to my grandmother. She has been can but there is nothing special that we can do. She is so good to me. She cooks for me and takes care of me. I wanted to give her that pretty flower for loving me.” When the little boy finished, the preacher could hardly speak. He reached up and unpinned the rose. With the flower in his hand, he looked at the boy and said, “Son that is the nicest thing that I’ve ever heard but you can’t have this flower because it’s not enough. If you’ll look in front of the pulpit, you’ll see a big bouquet of flowers. Different families buy them for the Church each week. Please take those flowers to your granny because she deserves the very best.” Then the boy made one last statement. The boy said, “What a wonderful day! I asked for one flower but got a beautiful bouquet.” [ii] Like that boy’s grandmother, God has blessed us so much. He hasn’t just given us the flower of taking care of our daily needs, He has given us the bouquet of eternal life through Jesus Christ His Son